By Adrian Pyle, Director of Chaplaincy and Connections
Every key does two things at once. Depending on who has the key it either unlocks a door or – simultaneously – prevents access.
In this sense we might think of keys as symbols of authority, but perhaps they might also be understood as symbols of responsibility. And using that metaphor boards can be seen as keyholders. Every decision opens possibilities for someone and closes possibilities for someone else. Every policy makes certain things easier while making other things harder. Often that is entirely appropriate, but sometimes it happens without us even noticing.
Maybe one of the big responsibilities of governance is to keep asking, “What are we unlocking? What are we locking?”
The story of the month
This month Uniting Church communities will be listening to a well-known story from Gospel according to the community of Matthew. It begins with Jesus asking his disciples who people think he is. It is a fascinating conversation, and one that has occupied Christians and scholars for centuries. After the introduction by Jesus, I’m interested in where the conversation goes next.
After Peter’s response, Jesus speaks about giving him “the keys of the kingdom” and about the work of “binding” and “loosing”. Those words have often been heard as language of authority. Yet in the Jewish tradition from which Jesus spoke, they also carried another sense. They described the slow work of discerning which burdens needed to remain and which could be lifted, what helped communities flourish and what prevented them from doing so.
In this interpretation the image changes significantly so that the keys are no longer simply about power but are about stewardship.
This idea in some other places
For centuries, Quaker communities have resisted the temptation to make difficult decisions too quickly. Rather than treating meetings as contests between competing viewpoints, they cultivate careful listening, trusting that wisdom emerges gradually. Silence is not simply the absence of speech but part of the work of discernment itself. Sometimes the most significant contribution is the one that takes longest to appear.
Māori traditions offer a complementary insight through the ideas of mana and manaakitanga. Good leadership is measured not simply by reaching decisions but by whether those decisions uphold the dignity, standing and wellbeing of people. A process may produce an efficient outcome and yet still diminish someone’s mana if they leave unheard or unnecessarily burdened.
Back to school governance
So the metaphor of keyholding does extend to what we bind and loosen in a school context:
- Budgets unlock opportunities while limiting others.
- Policies remove uncertainty but may also create burdens.
- Enrolment decisions, staffing structures, student wellbeing programs and governance practices all make something possible while making something else more difficult.
The Uniting Church characteristic of “entering into justice” asks more that a simple binary question like “is this decision correct?” It may also ask what that decision loosens, what it binds, and whose dignity it strengthens along the way.
As we begin today’s meeting it may be worth carrying three questions with us:
- What are we unlocking through the decisions we make today?
- What burdens are necessary, and which may simply have accumulated over time?
- Whose dignity, confidence or opportunity might depend on the way we exercise the keys we have been entrusted with?
